Chapter 18: A Big Pit is Great for Burials (Part Two)

Night, Pier 7.

A transport ship glided into the dock. The coolies, who had been waiting for a long time under the leadership of several "bosses," boarded the vessel and began unloading the cargo.

Although the bosses didn't specify what was inside the crates, the coolies could easily guess just by lifting them. Over the past two months, there had been a steady stream of these obsolete iron goods, and the seller was none other than the recently rising Global Trading company.

Groaning under the weight, the coolies chanted in unison as they hoisted the securely packed crates off the ship, painstakingly transferring them onto several smaller boats moored alongside—not deep-bottomed sea vessels, but flat-bottomed river craft.

It was obvious that the cargo owners intended to ship these wooden boxes containing second-hand production lines back via inland waterways.

Not far away, several bosses watched the river cargo boats being steadily loaded, their faces breaking into expectant smiles.

Securing an entire production line capable of producing two thousand grenades a day at sixty percent of the market price—once this job was done, the superiors would surely be pleased, right?

Further away, in the deep shadows, another group of people also wore smiles.

Well then, do a good job; once the work is done, it will be our turn to make a move!

Finally, the two river transport ships were fully loaded. The coolies wiped the sweat from their brows and walked toward the cargo owners with hopeful expressions.

It was time to settle the bill!

One of the bosses pulled out a roll of cash, shoved it disdainfully into the hands of the lead coolie, and snapped, "You lot are so damn sluggish when doing any work!"

The lead coolie smiled ingratiatingly as he took the money and began to count. After finishing the first count, he hurriedly counted a second time to make sure there had been no mistake. Then, he quickly ran after the boss, who had already turned around to head back toward the river transport ship, and pleaded flatteringly:

"Boss! You gave us the wrong amount! You're short by 10 yuan!"

"I didn't give you the wrong amount!"

The boss who paid snarled viciously, "It took you forever to unload a bit of cargo; if I didn't dock you 30 yuan, it would only prove what a kind soul I am—now get lost!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the other coolies shifted dramatically. Those who were resting stood up, and with tacit coordination, they pressed forward together toward the cargo owners.

The boss who had docked their pay sneered at the sight, pulling a pistol from his coat. The nearly forty coolies instinctively stepped back at the sight of the gun.

A mocking curve touched the corner of the boss's mouth—muddy legs were always just muddy legs!

Just as he tucked away his gun and turned to head back to the cargo boat, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed through the night. A group of concession patrolmen in uniform rushed over quickly, brandishing nightsticks.

The leading patrolmen pointed their batons straight at everyone:

"Hands on your heads! Everyone, hands on your heads!"

The cargo owners were dumbfounded. How on earth did the patrolmen get summoned here?

Someone tried to fish out some money to buy their way out of trouble, but a patrolman barked a warning and struck the man's hand away with a nightstick.

One of the bosses grew furious and instinctively reached for his gun, only to be tightly grabbed and restrained by his companions.

Several patrolmen swarmed forward, immediately subduing the two men. During the struggle, they discovered a weapon, which caused them to anxiously jam their whistles between their lips, ready to blow them at any moment.

This reaction from the patrolmen finally made the slightly suspicious boss lower his guard. He shouted to all the "cargo owners":

"Don't resist! There must be some mistake!"

The Shanghai Municipal Council had the final say in the International Settlement, and behind the Council stood the major powers. None of their big bosses were people they could afford to offend, so there was no need to clash with the patrolmen.

Having secured the cargo owners, several patrolmen moved on to control the coolies. Shortly after, a patrol sergeant pulled out a document and announced:

"Someone reported you for smuggling! We are going to inspect your cargo!"

Led by two deputy sergeants, several patrolmen began boarding the ships to conduct an inspection. During the search, they ordered the crew members to go inside the cabins to cooperate. Naturally, not daring to disobey, the crew members filed into the cabins.

At that moment, two patrolmen walked over to the group of coolies, signaling them to follow. Just as the coolies walked away, the patrolmen guarding the cargo owners suddenly sprang into action, muffling their mouths and binding them tightly with ropes.

Realizing something was wrong, the cargo owners found it was already too late. They were dragged onto the two cargo boats by the patrolmen, who suddenly pulled out weapons from beneath their nightsticks and threatened the crew to set sail immediately.

One crew member stupidly shouted, "You're not real patrolmen!"

Before he could finish, two of the "patrolmen" lunged at him and subjected him to a vicious beating.

Having served as the chicken killed to warn the monkeys, the others instantly extinguished any thoughts of resistance and obediently began operating the vessels according to the demands of these fake patrolmen.

The other two patrolmen had already dismissed the coolies. Their gesture of making up the missing 10 yuan had made the coolies deeply grateful, causing them to leave quickly and obediently as instructed. Once those two returned and boarded, the two cargo boats fired up their engines and pulled away from the pier.

...

On the Yangtze River, two cargo boats were steaming upstream.

...

Zhang Anping, having doved off his patrol sergeant uniform, stepped into the cabin and looked down at the five cargo owners who had just received a severe beating. He asked Li Bohan, who was in charge of the interrogation:

"Have they cracked?"

Li Bohan replied, "Not yet—they're clinging stubbornly to the claim that they are members of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, and utterly refuse to admit they're Communists!"

Gazing at the five "Communists," Zhang Anping sneered, "Word has already leaked from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army that the Communists purchased this production line! Li Bohan, have you forgotten the interrogation methods I taught you? All Communists deserve to die! It doesn't matter if you beat them to death!"

Empowered by Zhang Anping's command, Li Bohan immediately grew eager. He motioned to Sun Dapu, saying, "Go get the pliers! Pull their nails out!"

Muttering under his breath, Zhang Anping said, "I'm a kind-hearted man, I can't bear to watch people suffer. Tsk, why must they be so stubborn?"

With that, he stepped back out of the cabin. The bound cargo owners cried out in desperate agitation, but their voices were entirely ignored by Zhang Anping.

This time, Li Bohan interrogated the five men separately. Before long, earth-shattering screams echoed through the air. While the crew members trembled with fear, the "bandits" who had disguised themselves as patrolmen acted as if they heard nothing at all.

Li Bohan interrogated them for about half an hour this time. Emerging from the cabin with bloodstains on his clothes, he sought out Zhang Anping, who was enduring the biting river wind in the dark of night.

"Instructor, they... might actually be from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army."

Li Bohan's expression was panicked. "Every one of them gave the exact official titles of the others. It's highly unlikely they're disguised Communists."

Frowning, Zhang Anping retorted, "Impossible! The intelligence came straight from our mole in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army! Based on my deduction, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army must have leaked it on purpose!"

"Since they leaked the information on purpose, why would they foolishly walk right into our trap? No! Keep interrogating!"

Bracing himself, Li Bohan retreated back into the cabin to begin the third wave of questioning.

Naturally, Zhang Anping knew all along that this was the truth, but acting required a full performance—he couldn't just believe it right away, could he?

These five men were simply unlucky; they served as convenient practice subjects.

Li Bohan's third interrogation lasted another half-hour. He had beaten all five men until they passed out, while simultaneously extracting confessions to a pile of other minor matters like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

Approaching Zhang Anping once more, Li Bohan gave a bitter smile and said, "Instructor, they truly are members of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army! We've stirred up a hornet's nest this time!"

With a dark expression, Zhang Anping said, "We've been played!"

Terrified, Li Bohan asked, "Instructor, what do we do?"

Being a smart man, he naturally knew about the concept of scapegoats, and he was deathly afraid that he, as the primary interrogator, would be handed over to take the fall.

Wearing a grim expression and a frosty gaze, Zhang Anping declared, "This matter cannot be allowed to leak! Silence them permanently!"

Startled, Li Bohan said, "Instructor, if we silence them, there's no turning back!"

His words seemed to pull Zhang Anping up short. Zhang Anping slowly loosened his fists, pondered for a moment, and said:

"This must be a scheme by the Party Affairs Section!"

"This intelligence wasn't intentionally leaked to our mole by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army; rather, it was deliberately leaked to us by the Party Affairs Section to force a clash between us and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, using their hands to cause us trouble!"

"If we kill them to cover it up, the Party Affairs Section will find every possible way to lead the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to the evidence proving we did it!"

At this point, Zhang Anping softened his expression and said to Li Bohan, "Bohan, thank goodness for your reminder this time! Otherwise, I would have fallen right into the Party Affairs Section's trap!"

"How dare they scheme against me! Party Affairs Section, we'll see about this!"

Zhang Anping gritted his teeth in anger.

His instructor's sudden warmth filled Li Bohan with dread. Suppressing his terror, he expressed that it was only his duty. At the same time, his mind raced, desperately calculating what to do if Zhang Anping decided to toss him out as a scapegoat.

"Go to the cabin, bring them all here. I'm going to have a showdown with them!"

Zhang Anping didn't seem to harbor any intention of making Li Bohan a scapegoat and began issuing orders directly, causing Li Bohan to let out a silent sigh of relief.

The five Shanxi-Suiyuan Army officers, who had been subjected to horrific torture, were dragged in.

Though somewhat delirious, one of them caught sight of Li Bohan and cried out in terror:

"I'm not a Communist! I really am not a Communist! I'm Lin Zhongyue, a procurement specialist for the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army Logistics Department! I'm truly not a Communist!"

Rubbing his temples with a headache-indurated expression, Zhang Anping stood silently while Li Bohan, standing just behind him, whispered:

"Instructor, if worst comes to worst, why don't you hand me over?"

"Nonsense! This whole thing was aimed at me! I was the one in charge of it from start to finish! If I fell for the trap, it only means my brain—Zhang Shihao's brain—was sick!"

Zhang Anping glared at Li Bohan. "Hand you over? What kind of talk is that?"

...

Zhang Anping's reprimand finally stripped away the last shred of Li Bohan's wariness. Looking at Zhang Anping with deep emotion, he silently swore that for the rest of his life, he would follow his instructor's lead without question.

Choking up, Li Bohan said, "Instructor, I..."

Frowning, Zhang Anping scolded, "A man should look like a man! Swallow those tears right now—splash them with water!"

Wiping the corners of his eyes, Li Bohan stepped forward and dumped buckets of water over the five men in turn, jolting the unconscious men awake.

Gazing at the terrified, water-drenched captives, Zhang Anping said coolly, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zhang Shihao, Deputy Chief of the Shanghai Special Section of the Special Service Office, acting under orders to apprehend Communists!"

Before the interrogation, these men would likely have spat a mouthful of thick phlegm at Zhang Anping to express their fury.

However, three rounds of brutal torture had completely shattered their courage. Faced with the "bigwig" who was finally revealing his true identity, the five men began to plead for their lives one after another.

Stopping their appeals, Zhang Anping said coldly, "I am going to give you a chance to live—on the condition that you cooperate with me!"

"If you don't cooperate or if you're asking to die, don't blame me for being ruthless—Li Bohan, go draw up five confessions admitting to Communist membership and have them press their thumbprints."

Shocked and enraged, the five men assumed Zhang Anping meant to execute them. Yet they dared not hurl curses, reduced instead to crying and begging relentlessly.

"A confession is leverage. If you cooperate, it stays hidden; if you don't, this leverage will be the death warrant that takes your lives! Cooperate, and once this is over, I will certainly return it to you," Zhang Anping threatened.

Repeatedly nodding, the five men swore they would cooperate.

Li Bohan fetched paper and began writing.

Meanwhile, Zhang Anping questioned each of the five about their backgrounds and, based on their histories, dictated the dates they supposedly joined the "Communists." Listening to it all, Li Bohan felt an involuntary wave of admiration—this fabricated confession sounded far more real than the truth!

Once the confessions were written, Li Bohan had the five men press their thumbprints. Signatures were out of the question; none of them had hands capable of holding a pen at the moment.

With the thumbprints secured, the five men stared in terror at the demonic figure of Zhang Anping, praying inwardly that these confessions weren't a trap designed to destroy them.

They certainly had some experience—they even knew that interrogation involved methods of inducing false confessions...

As it turned out, Zhang Anping had no intention of killing them. Inspecting the confessions with a critical eye, he said:

"What comes next for you is recovering from your injuries—I will arrange for you to recuperate in a completely safe location, though your freedom will be restricted during that time. Once this matter is settled, I, Zhang, will personally make amends to you all!"

The five men exhaled massive sighs of relief.

Yet, an instant later, absolute terror gripped them as they watched Zhang Anping pull out a pistol.

Even Li Bohan was startled, thinking Zhang Anping had decided to execute them after all.

Bang, bang, bang!

Gunshots rang out. Terrified, the five men squeezed their eyes shut, wetting their trousers in panic. Only when the sudden warmth pooled between their legs did they realize they were still alive.

"Li Bohan, take some crew members, throw some heavy objects into the river, and fake the appearance of sinking them!"

"Afterward, take them to Nanjing, find a safe house to settle them down, and hire doctors and nurses to look after them twenty-four hours a day!"

Zhang Anping instructed:

"Once that's done, go to headquarters, report my conjectures and arrangements to the Director. You might need to stay in Nanjing for a while. Any problems?"

"No problems!"

"As far as the world is concerned, you are dead men now. If you ever rise from the dead, think very carefully about the consequences."

Still trembling with residual fear, the five men nodded repeatedly. Having just brushed past the gates of hell, their desire for survival burned brighter than ever.

Nodding in satisfaction, Zhang Anping turned and walked out of the cabin. Li Bohan smartly followed at his heels. Pausing, Zhang Anping turned his head to issue one last order:

"Keep the crew detained for five days, have them sign a confidentiality agreement—the exact same thing I had you sign—and then let them go!"

"Understood!"

Li Bohan prudently took his leave, leaving Zhang Anping standing alone on the deck.

With no one else around, a faint smile touched Zhang Anping's lips.

The trap was being dug deeper and deeper. Wonder how many people it would swallow this time?